Prince Harry Tried to Settle $67M Privacy Lawsuit Before Trial, but the “Daily Mail” Refused: Report

NEED TO KNOW

Prince Harry and other claimants reportedly tried to settle the lawsuit with Associated Newspapers before the trial began
The publisher reportedly refused settlement offers, pushing for the trial to proceed
Associated Newspapers may recover up to 75% of legal costs, with claimants’ insurance covering part of the $67 million total

Did Prince Harry attempt to settle his $67 million lawsuit with the Daily Mail?

On July 7, a High Court judge dismissed all of the claims brought by the Duke of Sussex, 41, and six other high-profile figures in a years-long lawsuit accusing Associated Newspapers Limited (ALN), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, of unlawful information gathering.

Prince Harry, who was in London when the ruling was made public, denounced the call as “a complete and obvious whitewash” and will have the opportunity to dispute any points of the consequential orders at a hearing later this month. However, a new report in The Telegraph alleges that he and his fellow claimants tried to settle with the other side before the trial began.

PEOPLE has contacted a spokesperson for Prince Harry for comment.

Prince Harry departs from The Invictus Games Foundation Conversation: From Policy to Practice at Chatham House on July 7, 2026 in London.
Credit: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty

The outlet made the claim in a new report published on July 8, alleging that Harry’s legal team used “intermediaries” including a retired police detective and a former editor of The Independent (which is not owned by ALN) to create a “backchannel” and “approach Associated Newspapers with a proposed deal” before the court battle began.

The Telegraph, however, said that ALN had “no intention of settling and was determined to clear its name.” The publisher allegedly pushed for the trial to proceed back in January, and Harry attended the court proceedings in London, where he emotionally claimed that the tabloid frenzy was making his wife Meghan Markle’s life “an absolute…

Source